This should've been great - the character of Panya is interesting, the setting is even more interesting. But Chris Roberson manages to make it dull anThis should've been great - the character of Panya is interesting, the setting is even more interesting. But Chris Roberson manages to make it dull and pedestrian, sucking the life out of the characters. Again, I might add. It starts out promising, and then starts to drag and drag.
One for the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. completionists only, and maybe not even them.
(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with a review copy through Edelweiss)...more
Young Hellboy (or Hellboyboy, as absolutely no one calls him) and professor Bruttenholm are on a plane, when they're attacked by some kind of ChristiaYoung Hellboy (or Hellboyboy, as absolutely no one calls him) and professor Bruttenholm are on a plane, when they're attacked by some kind of Christian fundamental cultist, the pilots are killed and the plane crashes close to a tropical island. Turns out there's an old evil there (isn't there always..?), a clan of monkey-men, and a woman who can turn into animals.
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It's clear that the story is based on pulp adventure magazines, but it isn't written very well. It all feels weirdly simplified, like it's written for children. It's completely missing the atmosphere which I expect from a Hellboy or BPRD story. The art doesn't help in that aspect - it's certainly not bad, but it is quite cartoony and bright, which again makes it feel like it's for children.
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The story feels a bit paint-by-numbers, and so the plot works out pretty much as you'd expect. The enemy is forgettable, and feels like a copy of a copy of a copy of another Hellboy villain.
One of the lesser works in the Hellboy canon.
(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)...more
Generally I'm not a huge fan of sketchbooks added to the back of trade paperbacks - it sort of presumes the art is so fantastic I want to see more of Generally I'm not a huge fan of sketchbooks added to the back of trade paperbacks - it sort of presumes the art is so fantastic I want to see more of it. That said, I always make an exception for Mike Mignola.
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So Mike Mignola is semi-retired these days, but when presented with Covid-19s effect on life, which has generally meant some form of lockdown or quarantine (staying at home) for most people, he decided to make daily pencil drawings to amuse himself and his followers on social media, where he would post the drawings. Then he would auction off the drawings, eventually giving the money to Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen project.
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And now collected in this book, it's a true treasure trove of Mignolaisms. We get a few runs of Hellboy drawings, of course, but we get so much more. Flinstone characters. There's a Kermit. There's a Squidward. There are kaiju monsters. Very Mignolian riffs on Victorian photography - men with plants for heads, ladies with flowers for heads, dapper skeletons, dapper robots. Cavemen (and "lady cavemen"). Lizard people. Large amounts of snakes, hacked into pieces, draped over characters.
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And so many of the drawings are not only beautifully drawn, they are incredibly funny (I would even go so far to say they're witty).
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There is little text to be found - a short intro, and a short epilogue by Mignola himself. Do not expect comments on process (which wasn't a problem for me, personally).
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If all of this wasn't enough - all proceeds from this book will also be donated to Jose Andres and his World Central Kitchen.
(Was graciously given an ARC by Dark Horse Books through Edelweiss)...more
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